3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Anycubic Kobra 2 Plus vs Creality Ender-3 V3 SE
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Anycubic Kobra 2 Plus comparisonsMore Creality Ender-3 V3 SE comparisons
| Property | Anycubic Kobra 2 PlusBEDSLINGER | Creality Ender-3 V3 SEBEDSLINGER |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Anycubic | Creality |
| Class | BEDSLINGER | BEDSLINGER |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Anycubic Kobra 2 Plus[1] | Creality Ender-3 V3 SE[2] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Listed on the Anycubic store from 31 August 2023 (Shopify publish date)[1] | Not documented |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $549.00 on store.anycubic.com, Aug 2026 (the compare-at price of $544.00 is lower than the sale price, which is a store data error rather than a discount)[1] | $186.00 on store.creality.com, Aug 2026; Creality's own product page shows $199.00 for the same machine on the same day, so the two Creality properties disagree[3][2] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Large Kobra 2. Against the small Kobra 2 machines: 320 x 320 x 400 mm build, 13 kg, dual-motor dual Z, 49-point LeviQ 2.0, 8 GB on-board storage and Anycubic APP support - but the bed ceiling drops from 110 C to 90 C, which matters for ABS and ASA. Anycubic's own comparison on the same page is against the older Kobra Plus (350 x 200 x 200 mm, Bowden, 180 mm/s), not against the Kobra 2[1][4][5] | The cheapest of the Ender-3 V3 family and mechanically the most conservative: it keeps a conventional i3 bed-slinger layout, while the Ender-3 V3 and V3 Plus use CoreXZ and the V3 KE keeps the bed-slinger layout but adds an X-axis linear rail, a 60 W ceramic hotend and Klipper-based Creality OS. Speed ceilings differ sharply - 250 mm/s and 2500 mm/s2 on the SE against 500 mm/s on the KE and 600 mm/s on the V3/V3 Plus. The SE also stops at a 260 C nozzle where the others reach 300 C[2][6][7][8][9] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 400 x 320 x 320 mm stated HWD, i.e. 320 x 320 x 400 mm; Anycubic quotes 40.9 L[1] | 220 x 220 x 250 mm[8] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 630 x 605 x 564 mm stated HWD - footprint about 605 x 564 mm[1] | 349 x 364 x 490 mm (Tom's Hardware measurement of the machine footprint)[8] |
| Net weight (kg) | 13 kg[1] | 7.12 kg[8] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Open frame, no enclosure[1] | Open frame, no enclosure[2] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Cartesian bed-slinger with double metal spindles on X and Y and included belt tensioners[1] | Cartesian i3 bed-slinger - Creality describes "neat X, Y, Z-axis, smooth T-shaped profiles" with a rigid dual Z-axis and a moving build platform on the Y axis[2] |
| Y-axis guide type | Not documented | Y axis runs on a pair of 8 mm steel linear shafts carrying the build platform[2] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Dual-motor dual Z axis[1] | Rigid dual Z-axis, which Creality says reduces Z wobble[2] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 500 mm/s maximum print speed (Anycubic Lab figure)[1] | 250 mm/s max printing speed (manufacturer claim, Creality Lab figure)[2] |
| Recommended/typical print speed | 300 mm/s typical print speed (manufacturer figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | Not documented | 2500 mm/s2 max acceleration (manufacturer claim). Tom's Hardware attributes the modest Benchy time directly to this acceleration cap[2][8] |
| Vibration Compensation / Input Shaping | ||
| Input shaping supported? Implementation (Klipper IS / Marlin ZV / proprietary) | One-click vibration compensation on X/Y plus flow control[1] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Direct extruder with double gears[1] | Creality "Sprite" direct-drive extruder, which Creality says works with PLA, PETG and flexible TPU and had shipped over 500,000 units as of June 2023[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Not documented | Direct-drive hotend with a 0.4 mm high-flow nozzle (Tom's Hardware description); Creality does not describe an all-metal path for the SE[8] |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 260 C nozzle temperature ceiling; 0.4 mm replaceable nozzle[1] | 260 C maximum nozzle temperature per Tom's Hardware's spec box - the lowest of the Ender-3 V3 family, where the V3, V3 Plus and KE all reach 300 C[8][7] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 90 C hotbed temperature ceiling - lower than the 110 C of the small Kobra 2 machines[1][4] | Not documented |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | PEI magnetic spring steel plate, 320 x 320 mm[1] | PC-coated spring steel sheet, heated, removable[8] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Anycubic LeviQ 2.0 automatic levelling, 49-point, with smart Z-offset[1] | CR Touch inductive/mechanical probe for auto bed levelling plus a separate strain sensor for automatic Z offset - Creality's pitch is no levelling screws and no paper method[2] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament detection fitted as default[1] | Filament run-out sensor fitted[8] |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Not documented | Two fans on the printhead: a front-mounted fan onto the hotend heatsink and a second fan in the shroud with twin ducts aimed at the nozzle (Tom's Hardware teardown description)[8] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Host computer (SoC, RAM, storage) if firmware runs on embedded Linux | Cortex-A7 1.2 GHz processor; 8 GB built-in storage[1] | Not documented |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Not documented | Creality publishes an open-source firmware repository for this model, CrealityOfficial/Ender-3V3-SE on GitHub under GPL-3.0 (last pushed July 2024). Unlike the KE, K1 and K2 repositories, it is not described as a Klipper clone, and Creality does not call the SE a Creality OS machine on its product page[10][11][6] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | Not documented | 3.2-inch colour screen with a control knob - not a touchscreen, unlike the KE and V3[8] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Anycubic app support (firmware 3.0.5+) for remote monitoring, online slicing and control[1] | Knob-driven colour UI using motion graphics to show levelling progress and print parameters; auto filament load/unload from the menu[2] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Not documented | SD card only - no Wi-Fi and no USB host, in contrast to the Wi-Fi-equipped KE and V3[8] |
| Calibration Routines & QoL | ||
| Assembly level & time from unbox to first print | Not documented | Kit-style assembly from a small number of pre-built sections; Creality claims printing within 20 minutes of unboxing[2] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, ABS, PETG, TPU (Kobra 2 family list)[4] | PLA, PETG and TPU (Tom's Hardware); Creality's own copy names PLA, PETG and flexible TPU for the Sprite extruder[8] |
| Reliability, Support & Ecosystem | ||
| Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes) | One year on the complete machine (excluding gifted and second-hand machines), with component warranty periods that vary by part; the period starts on the delivery date and is suspended while a replacement is in transit. Anycubic states it will follow longer local statutory periods where they apply[12] | Creality's US store states "Up to 12-Month Warranty", a 14-day return and refund window and "Lifetime Customer Support" on its printer product pages. The "up to" wording means the term is not uniform across parts[13] |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Benchmark print times (source + settings) | Not documented | Benchy in 41 minutes under Speed Boat Rules (2 walls, 3 top/bottom layers, 10% grid infill, 0.25 mm layer height, 0.5 mm width) in ordinary grey PLA - independently measured by Tom's Hardware, not a manufacturer figure[8] |
| Review scores from major outlets (list outlet + score + date) | Not documented | Tom's Hardware rating 4.5 out of 5 in the page's structured data[8] |
Manufacturer claims, independent measurements, packages and test conditions retain their source wording. FDM linear speed and resin vertical speed use different units and are not directly comparable. Unknown values are marked “Not documented”. Prices and source dates remain historical snapshots; check the linked guide for product details. Differences highlight text, not a universal winner.
Sources for this comparison
- Anycubic Kobra 2 Plus store page and Shopify product JSON (Tech Specs block, price, store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality Ender-3 V3 SE product page creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality US store - Ender-3 V3 SE 3D Printer product page (live price) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra 2 store page and Shopify product JSON (Tech Specs block, price, store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra 2 Max store page and Shopify product JSON (Tech Specs block, price, store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality Ender-3 V3 KE product page creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality Ender-3 V3 product page (full specification table) creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Tom's Hardware - Creality Ender 3 V3 SE Review (spec box and Speed Boat Rules Benchy time) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
- Tom's Hardware - Creality Ender 3 V3 KE Review (spec box and Speed Boat Rules Benchy time) tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
- GitHub API - CrealityOfficial/Ender-3V3-SE repository metadata ("Open source for Ender-3V3 SE", GPL-3.0) api.github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- GitHub - CrealityOfficial organisation repositories (per-model firmware sources) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Anycubic refund and warranty policy store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Creality US store - K1 3D Printer product page (live price, warranty and returns banner) store.creality.com · 2026-08 · vendor